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Fez re-releasing buggy patch due to cert costs

Polytron is re-releasing the Fez patch it pulled due to a save file corruption bug--with that error still in. Why? Because it improves the game for most, and if they changed anything, "Microsoft would charge us tens of thousands of dollars to re-certify the game."

When Polytron released the first patch for Fez in June, it discovered that a bug was corrupting some player's saved games and promptly pulled the title update. Which is perfectly sensible. However, it's now re-releasing that very same patch without fixing it at all, "Because Microsoft would charge us tens of thousands of dollars to re-certify the game."

"Less than a percent of players" are affected by the bug, Polytron explains. "It's a shitty numbers game to be playing for sure, but as a small independent, paying so much money for patches makes NO SENSE AT ALL. especially when you consider the alternative. Had Fez been released on Steam instead of XBLA, the game would have been fixed two weeks after release, at no cost to us. And if there was an issue with that patch, we could have fixed that right away."

Yes, if only it were on Steam. Though Fez sold over 100,000 copies in its first six or so weeks alone, Polytron presents itself as hard-up and doesn't want to give Microsoft more money. It claims, "We already owe Microsoft a LOT of money for the privilege of being on their platform."

So, as the wonky patch did bring heaps of performance improvements and bug fixes and whatnot, and as Microsoft is okay with a bug which affects so few players, it's coming back.

"For 99 percent of people, it makes Fez a better game," Polytron says. "To the less-than-1-percent who are getting screwed, we sincerely apologize. We know this hurts you the most, because you're the ones who put the most times into the game. And this breaks our hearts. We hope you don't think back on your time spent in Fez as a total waste."